Analysis of claims data finds patients often receive starting doses of Butrans that do not follow published recommendations, with more than one-third of patients receiving initial doses that are too low.
Pain is a common side effect of cancer that can be caused by the disease itself, treatment, and other factors. Greater awareness of the causes and types of cancer pain, knowledge of available treatments, and willingness to consult pain specialists are the keys to providing effective cancer pain management.
Early palliative care clinic visits, integrated with standard oncologic care for patients with metastatic lung cancer, emphasize symptom management, coping, and psychosocial aspects of illness, according to research published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Steve Gelfand, MD, secretary of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) responds to recent comments by Drs. Cole and Webster in Pain Management.
For patients with one of five common cancers, 43.6 percent receive at least one prescription of opioids in the last three months of life, according to a study published in the Dec. 10 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Systematic literature review confirms that a range of opioid formulations and delivery methods provide safe and effective treatment options for cancer pain.
